Roundup: CF men continue hot streak at Patriot Gym

Published: Saturday, December 8, 2012 at 6:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, December 9, 2012 at 12:06 a.m.

Without an inside presence, Miami Dade played right into the hands of the College of Central Florida men's basketball team on Saturday night.

The Patriots' zone stymied the Sharks into a 6-of-27 effort from 3-point range, on their way to a 70-54 win on Saturday night in the Florida Men's Colleges Shootout at Patriot Gym.

CF has now won 17 straight home games over the past year.

"I feel like we have to hold it down here at home," said CF sophomore forward Jeremiah Eason, who led all scorers with 16 points.

The fifth-ranked Patriots (11-2) won their fourth straight game overall and held Miami Dade to a 19-of-62 shooting effort.

"We're 11-2, and I am very pleased with where we are at," CF coach Tim Ryan said.

CF outscored the Sharks 30-8 over the final 13:38 of the first half and led 37-19 at halftime.

Over the opening half, the Patriots held Miami Dade to a 2-of-13 effort from 3-point range and held a 22-13 rebounding edge.

"We have to stay strong in our zone," said Eason, who has been getting looks from North Carolina Central and Tennessee Tech. "We're short on bodies, so we know that we have to be strong."

Miami Dade finished the half shooting 8-of-32 and never led after a dunk by CF's Eugene McCrory in transition at the 12:13 mark, which capped a 6-0 run.

"When we play teams that don't have an inside presence, we are able to identify their shooters early and get out on them," Ryan said. "We're so long and the last three games we have done a nice job of finding out who their 3-point shooters are and controlling them."

The game on Saturday night was much different than the fast-paced win for the Patriots against Gulf Coast State, but in the end, the result was to the hosts' liking.

"It doesn't matter to me if there are a lot of fastbreaks or if it is a physical game, I just like to win," Eason said.

During the first half, CF scored 13 consecutive points and led 27-13 after a 3-pointer by Rasham Suarez with 6:03 remaining before halftime.

From there, the Patriots led by as many as 20 in the first half, before taking a 37-19 halftime advantage.